For those voters who, for the first time in six years are facing elections for both St. Albert school boards, it can be difficult to get engaged, as was proven by sparse attendance at a recent candidates’ forum. But for all those wondering whether or not electing school board trustees matters, one only has to look at the some of the decisions made in recent history to recognize their significance.
With only about 30 per cent of electors having children enrolled in either Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools or the St. Albert Protestant School District, getting the most people to vote possible can be a challenge, especially when only 37 per cent of eligible voters bothered casting a ballot in 2007’s municipal election when there were no school board races due to acclamations. Their kids are either finished school, not in school yet or they don’t have kids. So why should it matter?
The examples are numerous yet low-key. At its most basic level, publicly elected school board trustees decide what programs will be offered at which schools. Alberta’s education system is not a catch-all that offers the same programming to every single student. It is the responsibility of the board to decide what will be taught and how it will be taught. This has led to several programs locally, including the Cogito and Logos Christian programs, high school international baccalaureate, experimenting with online teaching and even going so far as to incorporate iPods or iPhones into the classroom as a learning mechanism. There are few other municipalities offering carbon-copy programs. It is what makes the educational experience in St. Albert unique.
When faced with an agreed-upon salary increase the provincial government did not have the money to fund last year, both boards found a way to make the numbers work without having to jettison staff. Had it been left to some province-wide entity, the slaughter of programs, teachers and other staff would have been reminiscent of the Ralph Klein cuts of the early 1990s.
But for those who require a significant example to prove why our elected school boards are important, the most lauded is also the most local. Last year, the province authorized public schools to offer Gardasil, a vaccine that protects women from certain strains of the human papilloma virus (HPV) linked to increased rates of genital warts and cervical cancers, to female students. Most boards followed through but St. Albert’s situation was complicated. As the Catholic school district and the public school district, Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools faced a dilemma. Alberta’s Catholic bishops had stated that allowing young girls to be vaccinated would promote sexual promiscuity and sex before marriage. Several Catholic districts had already gone so far as to deny the vaccine to its female population.
The already-complicated scenario was further compounded by the fact that many non-Catholic students attend St. Albert Catholic schools. The board faced a decision — protect the health of its female students or follow the edict from the church. After a great deal of debate, the district allowed all vaccine to be distributed.
This is only one of numerous decisions either board makes every month of every year to protect, educate and enlighten the students under their care. Who makes those decisions is up to voters. What is more important — high marks on diploma exams or successful graduation rates? Alternative forms of education or strict adherence to the curriculum? Innovation or tried and true methods? Your vote will determine how either board proceeds either with your child’s education or with someone else’s.
